Eventful weekend: Wedding bands and Cake

Mark and I decided to take a "reset" weekend to just relax and have nothing planned...and although we only had one thing we committed to, we got a lot of wedding planning done!

Saturday morning, we decided to grab breakfast at the Original Pancake House! Since the restaurant is close to our jewelers, we decided to make a quick stop and get my ring cleaned as well as discuss our wedding bands. Mark established an amazing relationship with Aras since he was working with him for over a year: from finding the right diamond, to figuring out the setting, etc.

As a gift for producing my amazing engagement ring, we decided to frame the picture and give it to the jeweler.
Aras was ecstatic when he saw this and said he was going to put it on the wall for his clients to see. I'm glad we could do a little something for him, especially after what he's done and is doing for us. He'll be creating the plaster model for mine and mark's bands and we'll hopefully be able to see it within the next few weeks!! I know we have plenty of time but who wouldn't be excited for this process!!





While at the jewelers, he asked if we have chosen a cake yet and with 6 and a half more months left, we haven't even touched food! He suggested a bakery that was near by; since it was on the way to Burtonsville, we decided to stop by and grab a slice. We set a tasting appointment for next Saturday =] Our first taste meeting and it's with cake!! What more can I say..haha. Well when we got back to the house, we grabbed some milk and enjoyed the slice. It was DELICIOUS!! The thought of the cake is making me crave some at this moment! If their wedding cakes are anything like the one I tried, I think we've made our decision.



Couldn't have asked for a better weekend with my sweetheart <3 Relaxation, wedding planning and just us time.

Bridesmaid's Dresses!

Over the weekend, I was fortunate to get my local girls together ( Noreen, Elle, Charlene, Lauren and Timi), to try on dresses. We ventured to the David's Bridal in Rockville, MD to see the different styles. Originally, I only had one style in mind but by the end of the fitting, I found 2. I'm stuck between two different styles and they're both very different from each other. I took pictures so that I can go back and look at them before making a final decision.

All my bridesmaids will be wearing the same dress and shoes. Noreen and Jamie will have something added on to their dresses distinguish them as my MOHs. I love the how the simplicity of dresses brings out more elegance, especially when accessorized correctly. I wonder which dress I'll end up choosing...

After trying on dresses, we all went to lunch at Tara Thai and we discussed more of the wedding and just chatted it up! I can't wait until December when I get to be with all my bridesmaids and MOHs!!

Project: Invitation Design

SOOO, I finally got my sample paper in the mail! This weekend, Mark and I will be playing around, figuring out the dimensions and producing a sample of our finished project. My amazing roomie aka bridesmaid, Charlene Prosser is my life saver. She's helped me with many aspects of my wedding, without any complaints, she's the epitome of an amazing bridesmaid!! I have planned majority of my wedding but without her help, a lot of my visions wouldn't be possible. In the previous posts, I mentioned that I know what I like and I know what to stay away from. Charlene has helped turn my visions into reality, I talk to her about what I'm looking for and she creates it for me. I'm not "artsy fartsy" by any means and attempting to describe to her what I want has been difficult because I don't know any technical terms, yet she somehow understands what I'm saying and sketches the idea for me [on paper towels and my notebook]. haha

As "high maintenance" as Mark and I are as a couple, we're actually very simple. We would rather go more elegant and simple[with the wedding] as possible, rather than the modernized avant-garde look. Charlene and I are currently working on a design that will be used for every aspect of our wedding.

Project: Invitations

I'm very particular when it comes to presenting something to a general audience, regardless of how large or small. I will always stand behind my work because I will put 100% of my efforts into everything I do, especially with this wedding. For the past two or three months, I've been searching for the ideal invitations and had no luck! Mark and I saw a couple that we "sorta, kinda" liked but then would find something about the invitation that we didn't like, needless to say, it was a no go.

PROJECT INVITATIONS
Mark and I spoke for weeks about it and I began to feel disappointed; I couldn't find the ideal invitation. Although some couples might find that part of the planning juvenile, I see it as the "first look" into what people should expect. Again, I want to stand behind everything I present. That's when the bright idea came to us: "What if we hand-make all the invitations?" It's a lot of work but this way, we get exactly what we want! Shark [sherry and mark] will be working with Paolo&Charlene to create the perfect design, we get to choose the type[s] of paper and colors, pick out our ribbons and it will be a great way to add our personal touch to them! We will also be customizing the map&directions, response cards, menu, programs, place cards, and thank you cards to go along with our invitation motif.

Call me crazy, but I'm doing this!! In addition to our wedding planning, the rest of my time will be spent on this[baking might have to be put on hold]. I've gotten mixed reviews of what people think: "you're too busy, can you pull it off, will this add stress, that's amazing, can't wait to see them, etc. "

To be honest, I don't really know what to expect but I'm only getting married once [unless we renew our vows, of course] so I'll do what it takes.

Mark's been great!! He's been a great supporter and an even better contributor to this "project." Rather than shooting down my idea, he's been actively involved with everything to ensure we produce a great product. I've made rough samples[smaller scale] of what they'll look like and he's been providing input, as well as helping me figure out the dimensions.

Project invitations, here we come...

First Dance

DANCE!
Mark and I have been taking private lessons for our "First Dance". Although we've only taken 5 classes and practice once, before our next lesson[usually the day before our lesson], I feel like we've accomplished a lot. Perhaps it's our natural nature to pick things up quickly or just the mental determination we both have, either way, our instructor commends us on how we're doing.

During the weekday, it's safe to say we both sleep before 1130pm. Thursday[9/29] night we slept after midnight; we were trying to find the perfect song that will go along with our first dance. SUCCESS, we found it!! During our lesson, we were finally given our first set of choreography. It was a lot to take in but Karen [our instructor] kept adding on since we were picking it up quickly. Now all we have to do is PRACTICE!

I know I always write how excited I am about our special day, but this dance has me really excited because Jon [my brother ] will be singing it.

one thing to take out of all my planning:
Everything we're doing has some type of sentimental value. Every aspect of our wedding will include some type of personal touch added to it. It's what differentiates us from everyone else. We take an ordinary item and make it ours.